Elton John & Brandi Carlile Unveil New Original Song ‘Never Too Late’

Elton John and Brandi Carlile have unveiled their new original song "Never Too Late (From The Film “Elton John: Never Too Late”)’. A collaboration between these longtime friends and artistic kindred spirits, ‘Never Too Late’ is an original composition inspired by, and written specifically for, the forthcoming Disney+ documentary ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’. 

A beautiful, reflective and ultimately uplifting story of finding happiness and redemption in love and family, ‘Never Too Late’ is the truly fitting finale to the documentary that plays out over the credits of the documentary of the same name. Already receiving an avalanche of critical acclaim as it’s swept through the world film festival circuit including Toronto International, New York and London, ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ receives a limited theatrical release today before arriving on Disney+ on December 13th. The documentary follows Elton as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in an emotionally charged, intimate and inspiring full-circle journey. Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish the documentary premieres on December 13, 2024, on Disney+. 

The eponymous song ‘Never Too Late (From The Film “Elton John: Never Too Late”)’ was co-written by Elton and eleven time GRAMMY winning US superstar Brandi Carlile in the summer of 2023, as Elton adjusted to life off the road after completing his record breaking ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour. Over dinner the friends discussed life, family, future plans and fledgling projects to collaborate on. As the evening wore on Elton and documentary co-director David Furnish screened Brandi an unfinished and as-yet-untitled early cut of their forthcoming documentary. The emotional impact on Brandi was profound. It inspired her to start writing a new song in the third person, taking influence and guidance from Bernie Taupin in the way his deeply observational and personal lyrics have perfectly channelled Elton’s voice and journey over the years. Upon hearing the finished ‘Never Too Late’, filmmakers David Furnish and R.J. Cutler were so moved by the sentiment of the lyrics and melody they adopted the lyric as the documentary's title and the closing credits music.

Brandi says, “I found the early cut of the documentary that went on to become ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ so moving. It was really amazing to see historic footage of Elton and the trajectory of his life. But as fantastic and as beautiful as everything was that we were all witnessing as fans, his life was also pretty lonely and difficult at times. And I thought that the documentary illustrated a really important sentiment, because he might not have ever found his serenity and his peace, but he did find it, and he found it later in life. And it is never too late - too late to find the love of your life, or to start a family, or to change your mind about anything.”

Elton says ‘When Brandi told me she was so inspired by the early cut of the documentary that she wanted us to to co-write a new song for it, I was thrilled. I’ve known for a long time how great she was but still, reading her lyrics and co-writing with her on the music was deeply moving. Especially given how personal it is to see, seeing my life on the screen, she just perfectly captured the essence of the documentary and why I stopped touring to spend more time with my family. I’m constantly astonished by her craft, she can channel my voice in a way only Bernie has managed to do before. I know Bernie helped guide Brandi on that. The standard of her musicianship, her songwriting, her passion for what she does are sensational. She truly is one of the greatest there is.’

‘Never Too Late’ is produced and co-written by multiple GRAMMY winner Andrew Watt. Like Brandi, Watt also has a long, storied history with Elton. He first encountered Elton after co-opting him to add piano and vocals to Ozzy Osbourne’s 2020 album Ordinary Man: he subsequently produced six tracks on Elton’s chart-topping album “The Lockdown Sessions” and ’Hold Me Closer’, Elton’s collaborative global hit single with Britney Spears.

About Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile is an 11 times GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer and producer, 2x EMMY Award-winning composer, lyricist and writer, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music's most respected voices. Throughout her acclaimed career, Carlile has released seven studio albums including her most recent, the 3x GRAMMY-winning In These Silent Days. Additionally, Carlile continues her work as a renowned producer with recent GRAMMY Award-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She also produced and recorded a rendition of Indigo Girls’ “Closer To Fine” with her wife, Catherine, which was included on Barbie The Album as well as a version of “Home,” which was featured in the final season of Ted Lasso.

About Elton John:

Elton’s career achievements to date are unsurpassed in their breadth and longevity. Elton is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time. In the UK and US charts alone he has 2 Diamond, 43 Platinum or Multi-Platinum, and 26 Gold albums as well as over 85 Top 40 hits. He has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

Among the many awards and honours bestowed upon him are six GRAMMYs, including a GRAMMY Legend award, a Tony, two Oscars, a Best British Male Artist BRIT Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honor, Legend of Live Award, 13 Ivor Novello Awards and a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services”. In January 2024, Elton John joined Hollywood’s elite group of EGOT winners after securing his first-ever EMMY Award for his historic Disney+ live, concert special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

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